***May contain spoilers***

***Scroll to the bottom for my rating***

First, I would like to begin this review by saying thank you to @sunnybabrpr and @s.trout_writes for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Forbidden Fruit by S. Trout is a steamy, insta-lust, fast-paced debut. It features a 16-year age gap relationship between a student and professor, a lot of spice, and an overprotective MMC. If you enjoy those tropes, this is likely a read for you. 

I went into this book excited and looking forward to the tropes presented. In the early pages, I was laughing and joyful, reminiscent of life as a college student. It made me miss my roommate and the antics we shared when living together. 

I actually sent her a voice memo laughing about particular parts of the book and the memories they brought up because it really took me back. But it quickly turned into an "if college had been a more depraved experience," it may have been more like this book situation. This is fine since I am a big "to each their own" advocate, but it still removed a decent amount of the relatability I was finding in the beginning. 

And it wasn't even that depraved; it was just all too easy and fast-paced. I am familiar with books that showcase insta love and how fast those stories tend to pan out, but with so much on the line for both characters, especially DeLuca, I feel that there would have been a bigger attempt at trying to avoid temptation. 

With DeLuca's past involving a student setting him back in his professional career, you'd think he'd take every step possible to be more conscious about his actions or at least more discreet about them. On top of that, you'd think there would be way more pushback from Olivia's father, the Dean, when finding out the nature of their interest and relationship. Yet, he practically just gives it the green light and moves on.

I love myself a HEA, but everything wrapped up too nicely and easily; it kind of ruined it for me. There was no real struggle or putting their relationship to the test; everyone was just okay with it. I mean, even DeLuca and his friends and Olivia and her friends were hanging out. Isn't that weird when everyone acknowledges their relationship's "forbiddenness"? The story was a tad too unrealistic for me, so I could not rate it with a perfect score. 

However, because it was still enjoyable and really pulled me in initially, I will give Forbidden Fruit 3 out of 5 stars with a 4 for spice. If fast-paced reads are your jam, I'd give this one a go. But if you're looking for something with the earlier stated tropes that can be interpreted as more realistic, I'd recommend skipping it. Overall, Trout's writing was solid, and I'd consider reading another one of their books in the future. 

As always, thanks for reading! 💜

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️